The best baguette of Paris. A must-eat!

The Prix de la Meilleure Baguette is the dream of every Parisian baker. Who doesn't want to sell the best baguette of Paris? A few years ago, Au 140 in the charming neighborhood Belleville won this prestigious price. Every day, many locals stand line in front of the small bakery to buy a baguette.

I'm also a fan of their pastries.
They sell delicious versions of éclairs for a fair price.  




Practical information
Address
140 Rue de Belleville, 75020 Paris

Arrondissement
20^th   
Price

€ 0.85 for one price-winning baguette. 

Website

http://www.au140.com/
Metro
The nearest metro station is Jourdain (see red circle below).

The most delicious crêpe in Paris

As a native of the Netherlands, the country where you can find the biggest pancakes you will ever see in your life, and as a girl who loves chocolate, I had to try the kind of pancake that the French like to eat the most. A crêpe is thinner than Dutch pancakes and the French like to put Nutella chocolate spread on it. (The Dutch prefer either cheese and ham or traditional syrup or apple, raisins and cinnamon under a cover of white powder sugar.)

I must say I’m a fan of the crêpe! The best crêpe I ate was so hot that the Nutella melted instantly. I had to take small bites in order to avoid burning my tongue. After this amazing first experience, I thought that any small crêperie on the street that sells a crêpe with Nutella for € 3.50 would satisfy my love for thin pancakes with melting hot Nutella. I’m sorry to inform you that this is not the case. You would think that it’s not too hard to put some pancake mix in a pan that is specially designed for making cêpes, to wait until the crêpe is ready and to serve it to the customer. Well, for some street-selling crêperies this was too hard. Twice I got a pancake that was taken out of the pan too early, so the dough was a bit raw.

Therefore I advice you to go the street-selling crêperie that you can find on the right of the Moulin Rouge. If you stand in front of the Moulin Rouge, go to the right and the crêperie in the first street on your left (Rue Lepic, at the corner of the street, close to metro station Blanche) is where you should buy a crêpe.  

Practical information
Address
At the corner of Rue Lepic, on the right of the Moulin Rouge, 75018 Paris

Arrondissement

18th

Price

€3.50 for one pancake with Nutella chocolate spread.
Metro
The nearest metro station is Blanche (red circle below).    

Cheap, but good restaurants in Paris

One of the things I love about living in Paris is the endless choice of good restaurants. Often you can dine out for a reasonable price. It takes time and effort to find an affordable restaurant that serves delicious food, but reading this blog item will save you time, so go and invite your friends for dinner!

If you want to eat traditional French food, take the metro to Saint Michel and walk in less than a minute to Rue de la Harpe. This street is a short walk from the famous Notre Dame and in the middle of the Quartier Latin, known for its student life. Here you will find restaurants that serve authentic French food for a price that at first will make you think that there is a fly in the ointment. Several restaurants offer a three-course meal for only € 10. Drinks are not included in the price. Here are examples of three-course meals that cost € 10:

French grated onion soup, duck with orange sauce and potatoes, chocolate mousse.

Salad of tomatoes and mozzarella, grilled chicken with fresh French fries, apple pie.

French mussels, fish with French butter sauce, vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce.

 

Most restaurants around Rue de la Harpe offer three-course meals for € 12 and € 16 as well. If you pay a little bit more you'll have more choice or you can choose more expensive dishes, like rabbit.

 

If you don’t like traditional French food, try one of the following cuisines that can be found in the same neighborhood: Spanish, Italian, Georgian (read my blog item on this restaurant), Chinese, Thai, Lebanese etc.

 

Bon appétit!  

 

Practical information
Address
Rue de la Harpe, 75005 Paris

Arrondissement

5th

Price

€10 for a three-course meal. Drinks are not included in the price.
Metro
The nearest metro station is Saint Michel (red circle below).

 

Supermarkets in Paris

In France there are two kinds of supermarkets. A supermarché is what comes up in most people's mind when they think of a supermarket. A hypermarché is a gigantic store that combines a supermarket and a department store. Besides food and drinks you can buy e.g. clothes, books, kitchen equipment, suitcases, office supplies and computers at hypermarchés. 

The following supermarché chains can be found at different locations in Paris:

Lidl
Lidl is the cheapest supermarket in Paris. Besides food and drinks, you can buy detergents and toiletries at Lidl. The disadvantage of Lidl is the lack of choice. You can buy three
different kinds of soap. That's it. However, soap costs € 0.80 at Lidl, whereas you would
pay € 1.50 at other stores. Another example is olive oil, which costs € 2.75 at Lidl and
€ 3.85 at some other stores. And a fresh pain au chocolat costs only € 0.35. If you want to
save money, I advice you to try to find what you're looking for at Lidl. If you can't find it there, go somewhere else.

DIA
DIA is a Spanish discount supermarket chain that has 90 stores in Paris. You're more likely to find a DIA in your neighborhood than a Lidl, the other discount supermarket chain. The difference with Lidl is that DIA comes up with great, but temporary (!) discounts, while Lidl has mostly fixed prices. DIA is slightly more expensive than Lidl, but sells a wider range of products. To give you an idea of the prices: 1 kilo of nectarines costs € 1.99, one lemon costs € 0.59 and a bottle of sugar free lemonade costs € 2.09. DIA's cheese is € 0.50 more expensive than Lidl's cheese.  

Carrefour City
Carrefour is a chain with both supermarchés (called ''Carrefour City'') and hypermarchés. Carrefour City can be found everywhere in Paris. In most cases it's a small store with a limited amount of products. Unlike Lidl, this is not reflected in the price. Carrefour City is the most expensive supermarket in Paris. You pay for the convenience of having a quality supermarket nearby, even if you live within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. If you don't want to spend too much money on groceries I advice you to look for another supermarket.

 

 

Monoprix
Monoprix is somewhere in between a supermarché and a hypermarché. It combines food retailing with hardware, clothing, household items and gifts, but the stores are not as massive as the hypermarchés and can therefore be found in every arrondissement. In case you don't want to leave your house you can even buy Monoprix's products online and have it sent to your house. Monoprix is not a discount supermarket. The prices are similar to Carrefour City. People with a limited budget are better off going to Lidl or DIA, unless they need a dish brush or other household products.   

 

Franprix
There are regular sized and small stores of Franprix in Paris. In general, Franprix charges less for products that you could also find at Carrefour City and Monoprix. Lidl and DIA are cheaper though. A white baguette costs € 1.00, 3 big bananas cost € 1.40 and you pay € 2.25 for chorizo (100 gram).   

There are only two hypermarché chains that can be visited by metro. Most hypermarchés  are situated outside Paris, because the hypermarché chains are not allowed to have a store in the city centre due to the size of the store.  

Carrefour
Carrefour is a chain with both supermarchés (called ''Carrefour City'') and hypermarchés (called ''Carrefour Auteuil'', named after the neighborhood). The Carrefour hypermarché that can be visited by metro is situated in the 16th arrondissement. Carrefour is one of the more expensive stores, but the quality of the products is excellent.  

Practical information
Address

3 Avenue du Général Sarrail, 75016 Paris

Arrondissement
16^th

Website

http://www.carrefour.fr/
Metro
The nearest metro station is Michel-Ange Molitor (red circle below).

 

 

 

Auchan
Auchan is cheaper than Carrefour. The food and drinks are more expensive than at Lidl and DIA, but at Auchan you have an endless choice of products. There is even a salad bar. To be more specific about the price differences between Auchan and Carrefour I'll give you an example. The cheapest plastic bin at Carrefour cost me € 7.50. One day later I found a similar plastic bin at Auchan for € 2.50. I regretted buying the plastic bin at Carrefour! Also, Auchan is a lot bigger than the Carrefour hypermarché. 
 

Practical information
Address

26 Avenue du Général de Gaulle, 93170 Bagnolet
Arrondissement
20^th
Website
http://www.auchan.fr/
Metro
The nearest metro station is Gallieni (red circle below).

 

 

''Poilâne'', the best bakery in Paris

Thanks to the Poilâne family, the traditional French sourdough bread has stood the test of time. After World War II, the white baguette (which was brought to France from Austria in the 19th century) became more and more popular and ousted the French sourdough bread. Lionel Poilâne, son of a baker, resisted the trend of baking baguettes and he kept baking sourdough bread according to old French traditions. Nowadays, the bread is sold under the name Miche Poilâne. The Poilâne empire has three stores in Paris, two stores in London and its bread is sold in 1500 stores and served in 1000 restaurants in e.g. Brussels and Tokyo. American celebrities like Steven Spielberg and Johnny Depp order bread from Poilâne regularly.   

In 2002, Lionel Poilâne and his wife died tragically in a helicopter accident. Their daughter Apollonia, at that time only eighteen years old, took over the business and expanded the Poilâne empire while studying economics at the presitigious Harvard University in Boston, USA. She flew often between Boston and Paris in order to do so.

Besides the Miche Poilâne bread, you can now buy pastries, cookies, marmelade and cutlery at the stores.
If you ask me, going to the Poilâne bakery and eating Miche Poilâne bread is an absolute must if you are in Paris!

Practical information
Address

38 rue Debelleyme, Paris 75003 (3^rd)
8 Rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris 75006 (6^th)
49 Boulevard de Grenelle, Paris 75015 (15^th) 

Arrondissement
3^rd , 6^th and 15^th   
Price

€ 4.45 for half a Miche Poilâne bread (1 kilo), which is enough for two people for two days.  

Website

http://www.poilane.com/index.php
Metro
The nearest metro stations are Filles du Calvaire (3^rd), Saint-Sulpice and Sèvres-Babylone (6^th) or Dupleix  (15^th) .

 

Restaurant ''Les Embruns''

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Paris, eat what the Parisians eat. A crêpe is a thin pancake and it is one of the favorite dishes of French people, young and old. You can order savory or sweet crêpes. The list of toppings is endless.    

Restaurant ''Les Embruns'', close to train station Gare de Lyon, is a crêperie or pancake restaurant where you can get acquainted with the French pancakes. The locals will probably go for a pancake with hazelnut chocolate spread (crêpe au Nutella) or a ham and cheese pancake. It is recommendable to make a reservation for a table in case you are planning to visit this restaurant. The fantastic pancakes attract many locals. Even during lunch time the restaurant is packed with people. Thanks to the amazing staff this doesn't mean it takes a long time to serve you. I made my order within two minutes and ten minutes later a smiling waitress came to my table with a crêpe with hot chocolate sauce and almonds. It took me longer to eat it! At first € 3,20 seemed a bit overpriced for a cup of tea, but ''Les Embruns'' serves the tea with a metal flagon with enough hot water for three cups. On top of that you will get a free bottle of still water. 

   

 

Practical Information
Address
8 Rue de Lyon, 75012 Paris

Arrondissement
12th
Price
A pancake, a green tea and a bottle of still water (1 liter) cost in total € 8,10.
Metro
The nearest metro station is Gare de Lyon (red circle below).

Restaurant ''Pirosmani''

Restaurant ''Pirosmani'' is an authentic Georgian restaurant in the fifth arrondissement with a mid-priced menu. The delicious Georgian cuisine attracts expats and students from the post-Soviet states and even French locals. 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People who are not from the Middle East or the former Soviet Union will be happily surprised by the taste of Georgian food. It is probably different from anything they have eaten before. The flavors will delight them.

 

There are many Georgian dishes worth trying.
I advice people to try khachapuri first. This is the Georgian version of cheese pizza.
 

Vegetarians will love nigvziani badrijani, eggplant filled with a mixture of spinach and walnuts, decorated with pomegranate.
People who prefer a meat dish should order khinkali, a dumpling with spiced meat inside. When a group of Georgian friends choose this dish they like to bet who can eat khinkali without spilling the sauce.

 

Georgia is one of the oldest wine producing regions of the world. Wine connoisseurs know they should travel to Georgia to find exclusive wines that can compete with French wine. People who like red wine should go for Saperavi. People who prefer white wine will most likely enjoy Tsinandali. Keep in mind that Georgian wines often contain more alcohol than non-Georgian people are used to, so becoming tipsy is inevitable. Especially if you visit the restaurant with a Georgian friend, who will love to treat you to another glass, and one more after that one...

Practical information
Address
6 Rue Boutebrie, 75005 Paris.

Arrondissement
5th
Price
Two people who share the dishes mentioned above will spend approximately € 35.
Metro
The nearest metro station is Cluny- La Sorbonne (red circle below).